Demeter - Ranboo

~ten~

As I was walking down the path to the flower fields by the beach, I began to notice all of the iron golems positioned around the town. The woman golem from the tavern's deep red eyes followed me as I left the village's limits. She was leaning against the stone walls, her arms crossed in front of her chest. She was probably only a few inches shorter than the Queen.

"Good morning," I greeted her, absentmindedly plucking wildflowers from the grass. I noticed that the flowers in her hair had been gathered to form a semblance of a crown. They were mostly poppies and dandelions; common plants.

"Good morning," she replied. She physically relaxed a bit, her shoulders slumping slightly. She was very pretty; too bad the village's men didn't take iron golems as wives.

"What's your name?" I asked. Shocked, she looked up at me, and her cheeks reddened just a little bit. She wiped her palms on her maroon dress, seemingly preparing an answer.

"We don't really have names, us iron golem halflings," she chuckled, switching her gaze to the waves of the ocean. "I guess I've never thought about it." She sounded lonely.

"Iron golem halfling?" I was intrigued by her.

She laughed; a hearty sound. "Have you ever seen a female golem? They don't exist." Now that I thought about it, she was right. I had never seen a female golem before I saw her.

"I hope this doesn't sound too blunt, but what are you then?" I asked gently. The last thing I wanted to do was incite anger in her. She looked strong; stronger than any of the men in the village.

"Oh, no you're fine! I've been told druid, sprite, fae, and nature deity." She sighed. "So in other words, I have no idea." She shrugged nonchalantly. Knowing one's heritage was as important as knowing one's name. But I guess she didn't adhere to either of those.

"We can give you a name, if you'd like," I suggested. Her eyes lit up at the notion, and we got to brainstorming. Immediately my mind was drawn towards a flower's name, but none of them seemed to fit her. Lily, Daisy, Azalea, Rose, Ivy. All wrong. She had moved to sit with me in the grass, her long legs folding gracefully underneath her. I found that she was easily distracted, her gaze flicking between the flower petals between her fingers, the ocean, and the occasional bee that would float past.

"You look a lot like the Queen," I said after a pause in our conversation. She was easy to talk to; she was gentle, like me. She looked at me funny, a smile playing across her face.

"That's flattering, really, but..." Her voice trailed off. "I don't see it," she finished, leaning back on her hands. She had a leather bag with her, similar to my own. Inside was a leather-bound journal and a strange greenish-bluish-yellowish orb that looked an awful lot like an eye.

"What do you write in that book?" I changed the subject; it clearly made her uncomfortable. I didn't want to make her uncomfortable.

"Oh, just little stories I think of. My friends really like them." She closed the flap of the bag, hiding the contents from sight. "You know, the Queen was talking about you last night."

"Really?"

"Yeah. She told us iron golems to keep an eye on you." Whatever else she had to say was lost in the ringing in my ears. Did she not want me hanging out with Ranboo? Did she think I was trouble? Did she hate me? Did the Queen of the kingdom I lived in hate me? I was a good kid. I would never hurt Ranboo. I didn't think I could hurt him. He was one of my closest friends, but I could only pray that the feeling was returned. Did she want to court Ranboo? She wasn't that much older than us; I wouldn't be surprised. And the way he talked about her made it sound like he wanted to court her too. It seemed like the Queen wouldn't be the type of person to fall for her kidnapper anyway, so it looked like Technoblade wasn't even an option.

But what did I care if he courted the Queen? He was my friend. I would be there to support and encourage him.

"I've got to go back to the rest of the golems. It was good talking to you," the iron golem smiled, standing up and leaving me alone in the field of flowers with my thoughts. I looked down at the flower I had subconsciously picked.

A crimson rose.

I threw the flower on the ground, stood up, and crushed it under my heel. Not today. Not now. Please, for the love of God, not a red rose. Please.

On the way back home, I had gathered a large bouquet of marigolds, and a handful of alliums. The tops of the flowers were poking out of an opening in my bag next to the untouched apple and loaf of bread, still wrapped in paper. There were an awful lot of crows on the road, eating scraps of food left on steps and outdoor tables. Occasionally one would caw at me, its brilliant black eyes looking at me curiously.

Willow was already setting the table for lunch, and Dad was making sandwiches when I walked through the front door. Mom must've still been out at the mill. I tossed out the old wilted flowers in the vase in the kitchen and replaced them with one of my marigold bouquets. There was something therapeutic about switching the flowers in the house. They change the whole mood of the place.

The tavern was almost empty when I came into work, as usual. Not many people wanted to come in and drink in the middle of the day. Only the two normal drunks sat at the corner table, messily sloshing their beer and mead around in their mugs. That would be a pain to clean up later. But then the girl who had been singing in the afternoon before the coronation walked in, her black eyes scanning the pub nervously before heading over to the bar where I was.

"Hello, welcome to The Garland, how may I help you?" I greeted her warmly. She seemed to relax at the sight and sound of me.

"Can I just have a glass of water please?" She asked, her speaking voice as clear as her singing voice. Her white-blonde hair hung limp as if it were wet.

"Of course!" I went to grab her a glass of water and as my back was turned I heard another person come through the doors of the tavern. The girl gratefully took the cup from my hands, leaving me to attend to the other visitor.

"Hi, Melanie!" The visitor, Ranboo, said cheerfully. He was holding something behind his back, and he had a joyful smile on his face. In spite of myself, I found it cute.

"Hey Ranboo," I said, smiling back. He sat down on a stool at the bar, still holding whatever it was behind his back. The girl's eyes flicked from me to him a couple of times before she went to sit at a table by herself, leaving three copper coins on the counter.

"Ophelia told me you would be here," he explained.

"Who's Ophelia?" I didn't know anyone by that name, and if I did, I would've remembered her.

"She's the iron golem that kinda looks like Callista." So that was the name she decided on. It wasn't perfect, at least in my eyes, but it fit the best out of all the ones we had come up with. "Anyway, I was out looking at some baby cows, and I saw this." He offered a yellow rose from behind his back. "It reminded me of you," he finished softly, a light blush creeping across his face.

"It's beautiful." But I couldn't help but wonder if he knew what it meant.

A yellow rose; a symbol of friendship.

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This story has so much angst potential but I can't use any of it just yet.

Anyways, this'll be the last chapter for at least a week, because I'll be uhhh out of state lmao and I won't have access to my computer aha

Remember to take care of yourselves, eat something, drink a glass of water, get some sleep tonight, and take your meds if you have them!!! I love all of you and I'll see you in the next chapter!